Valley Stream school officials say tough budget times ahead

It won’t be long until serious budget planning begins for the 2011-12 school year in Valley Stream’s four school districts. And school officials say that next year will present extraordinary challenges that could undermine the quality of public education the community has come to expect.

Next year, districts are looking at possible cuts in state aid, a property tax cap and increases in health and retirement costs. The following year, Nassau County will end its guarantee of paying 100 percent of successful property tax challenge refunds, leaving school districts to pick up much of the cost.

State aid for 2011-12 remains the biggest question mark for school officials. Aid was cut this year, and district leaders fear it could be cut again. Meredith Brosnan, assistant superintendent for business in District 13, said she is not even considering the possibility of an increase next year, and the best the district can hope for is for aid to remain unchanged.

However, Brosnan said, the district will have to contribute more money next year for retirement and health insurance costs, so even the same amount of aid would seem like a decrease.

Superintendent Dr. Elizabeth Lison said that in order for the district to absorb these costs, some tough choices will have to be made. “I think we’re going to have to look at our priorities,” she said. “We can’t put it on the backs of our taxpayers.”

The district might not be able to pass along the costs even if it wanted to. Gov.-elect Andrew Cuomo and the new Senate Republican majority are considering capping how much school districts can increase property taxes each year. The talk is of a limit of 4 percent, but possibly as low at 2 percent.

District 24 Superintendent Dr. Edward Fale said he expects the property tax cap to become a reality. “Whether it will be 2 percent, 4 percent, we don’t know,” Fale said. “The question is, where does the money come from?”